We have placed an identical bowl under the tree where our bird feeders hang, but the birds prefer the dog bowl. Should we be concerned about our dog drinking the bath water? We change the water daily, but we often find the bowl contains feathers and sometimes droppings.

Ana Fajnor

Aromas

DEAR ANA: Yes, you should be concerned.

Dogs are at risk of contracting Avian flu or cryptosporidiosis, a parasitic disease, if they ingest bird droppings. It doesn't mean that every dog that drinks from a bird bath or mud puddle gets sick, but it is a risk.

Birds in the dog dish are not a good thing. (Natalie Caudill/Dallas Morning News)

In addition to diseases spread by birds, dogs also are susceptible to leptospirosis, a bacteria that can lead to kidney damage and death. Leptospirosis is spread in the urine of rodents, raccoons, skunks, opossums and deer.

These ailments used to be uncommon in urban areas, but as humans have encroached on wild lands and the wildlife has encroached on developed areas, the numbers have increased.

So, it's important to stop the birds -- and other animals -- from using the dog's dish. I recommend replacing the dish with a water dispenser. This may not keep the birds out for long, but the new configuration should confuse them for a while.

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You also need to move the bowl you're using for the bird bath away from the feeders. Birds don't like their food and their bath to be too close together, probably because they are more vulnerable with their feathers wet and there's usually a lot of traffic around bird feeders that can be unsettling.

You want the bird bath to be near trees and shrubs so the birds can make a quick getaway should a predator arrive, but not so close that the same safe haven gives the predator a place to hide and pounce on the unsuspecting birds. Putting the water dish about 10 feet away from plants is good.

You also might consider getting a more traditional bird bath, shallow enough that birds can comfortably touch bottom.

Stores that specialize in birds are the perfect places to go for both the bath and advice on where to put it.

Continue to monitor your dog's dish and keep it clean.

DEAR JOAN: We have a problem with rabbits that mow down plants in my garden.

Do you have an effective control remedy for these critters?

James Quinn

Cupertino

DEAR JAMES: Rabbits can be ravenous creatures and are capable of going through a lot of plants. Probably the best way to stop them is exclusion. A fence no higher than 3 feet tall will serve the purpose. The openings should be small to keep them from slipping through.

If you can't fence the entire garden, you can protect individual plants by surrounding them with welded wire.

In addition to barricading against them, remove their habitat to encourage them to relocate.

Remove cover and nesting sites -- thickets, brush piles, weed patches, stone piles and other debris. You might want to create a hospitable rabbit area on the other side of your house, far away from the garden, then plant some grass for them to eat.